JoAnne Soper-Cook was born in outport Newfoundland, received both a B.A. and M.A. from Memorial University, and now lives in St. John's. She is the author of four critically acclaimed novels: Waterborne (published by Goose Lane Editions in 2002), The Wide World Dreaming, Waking the Messiah and A Cold-Blooded Scoundrel (published as an ebook). The Opium Lady is her first book of stories. JoAnne just signed a three-book contract with locally-owned BrazenBooks to publish her Inspector Devlin mystery series, starting with the republication of A Cold-Blooded Scoundrel.


Her stories, poetry, and journalism have appeared in Geist, The Review, TickleAce, Waxing and Waning, Rant, The Muse, Atmospherics and Essays on Canadian Writing and in several Newfoundland newspapers, including The Carbonear Compass, The Southern Gazette and The Clarenville Packet. Her stories and commentary have been broadcast on CBC Radio and her plays have been performed at the Arts and Culture Centre in St. John's. Soper-Cook has also worked as an editor (for Jesperson Press).

JoAnne recently spent 2.5 days in a Ph.D program at the University of Calgary, was treated shabbily, and fled back home to Newfoundland, vowing never to leave again.